"Awful act of terrorism last night in Paris. Our thoughts are with the victims. I expressed our sympathies to President Francois Hollande", Rutte wrote on Twitter.

Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs said that the Dutch government expressed "our fear, but also our indignation" to France, ANP reports. He thinks that the attack may be an attempt to influence the French presidential elections, the first round of which starts on Sunday. "We must not let ourselves be intimidated", he said. "It is a political instrument. We must resist it, whether in the Netherlands or in France."